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They’d exchanged a few terse words the previous evening, when he’d made a comment about how late she’d been working. ‘You’re not doing this just to avoid me, are you?’
When he’d walked towards her in the kitchen, she’d backed away, making a spike of anger spiral through him.
‘Of course not. This is a huge job, Alexandros. I’m doing it because I was offered it, not just to annoy you. If you feel like you’re not getting your money’s worth then maybe—’
‘Kallie…’ he’d warned.
She’d swung away, towards the door, and he’d seen her hand in a white-knuckled grip on the handle. He’d wanted to go and prise her fingers free, make her relax…against him.
‘Alexandros…unless you’re going to take
this revenge even further and sabotage my career somehow, then I will be doing this…’
He’d come close, trapping her before she could leave the room, and surprised himself by thinking, Does she really think I would go that far?
‘Kallie, I have no problem with your work. As long as you’re in my bed every night, you can do what you want.’
A dark frown marred his face as he looked unseeingly out the window, still back there with Kallie. With an abrupt movement he picked up his coat, walked out of his office and instructed his bemused secretary to hold all meetings for the rest of the evening. Kallie was avoiding him and he was tired of it.
Kallie’s feet ached. She had visions of buckets of hot water and Epsom salts. She smiled and greeted the umpteenth person coming in through the heavily decorated damask-covered doors. The function for Pierre Baudat was a celebration of his life’s work. A-listers from all over the world were there. This was the biggest event she’d been given so far and she’d been working night and day to get it organised. She hadn’t failed to notice how Alexandros’s bemusement over recent days had turned to irritation pretty quickly. No doubt, she thought bitterly, this wasn’t part of the game plan. A wife who worked.
Well, tough, she told herself. And knew that she’d probably put more hours in than necessary. As avoidance tactics went, she was a master of the game. Extreme self-protection. Keep busy to avoid the pain of seeing Alexandros every day. She was sure it’d only be a matter of time now before she’d receive divorce papers and then she could start to pick up the pieces of her broken heart. Because every minute, every moment spent with Alexandros meant that her heart grew more and more heavy.
Cécile hurried up to her side. ‘Kallie, Pierre is looking for you—something about the projector?’
Damn. Kallie’s thoughts were pulled back to the evening. That was all she needed now, just when the producer of the latest Oscar-winning best film had arrived. She hurried in to see what the problem was.
Alexandros was tense, could feel it in every muscle. And didn’t like it. The usual control he enjoyed seemingly at an ever-increasing distance. The car crawled along the Champs Elysées. He had his driver stop and jumped out. He started to walk to the art museum at the end of the boulevard, and as he walked the bizarre concern rose again, swiftly, like a dark cloud. He saw Kallie’s face in his mind’s eye. He stopped in his tracks. What if someone gave her something that could spark the same reaction she’d had in the restaurant in Athens?
Alexandros unconsciously speeded up, suddenly imagining Kallie vulnerable, weak, in trouble. He arrived at the door of the function, strode through and was stopped.
He looked down at the young woman who appeared to be in her early twenties, very lusciously half-dressed and looking up at him with big come-hither eyes that did absolutely nothing for him. She was caked in make-up.
‘Excuse me?’ she asked, fluttering her eyelashes at him.
Excuse me?
He couldn’t remember the last time, if there’d ever been one, when he’d been stopped at the door of a party. Suddenly Cécile appeared and flushed prettily, like she normally did. ‘Mr Kouros! Odette, this is Kallie’s husband. He can come in.’
Odette gave Alexandros a simpering smile. ‘So sorry, but we have a strict door policy.’
‘No problem.’ He’d already forgotten her. Looking at Cécile,’ he asked, ‘Where is she?’
‘Is something wrong, Mr Kouros? You seem a little…’
He forced himself to calm. ‘I’d like to see my wife, please.’
‘Of course. I’ll get her.’ Cécile hurried away.
Alexandros finally saw her through the crowd and felt what seemed like a punch in his stomach. She was beautiful. Stunning. Wearing a cream satin dress, it fell Grecian-style to her knees. Off the shoulder on one side and held together on the other by a jewelled clip. Her hair was piled high and a slim golden band held her fringe back. A gold bracelet circled her toned upper arm and golden strappy sandals made him want to walk over, pick her up and carry her far away. She turned her head at that moment, just as Cécile reached her. He couldn’t fail to see the shock and surprise register on her face and he didn’t like it. They stared at each other for a long moment. Then someone said something to her and she smiled apologetically, indicating that she was busy, and gestured to the bar in the corner.
Alexandros felt a crushing feeling. She was OK. He felt a little foolish and welcomed the respite for a moment. A short time later, he watched Kallie walk over with the man of the evening, Pierre Baudat. When she came close, he couldn’t read the expression on her face and it made him nervous.
‘Alexandros, I’d like you to meet Pierre Baudat. Pierre, my husband Alexandros Kouros.’
Kallie felt a bubble of hysteria rise up as she witnessed two very alpha males meeting. Even though Pierre was in his sixties, he was no less virile, exuding charisma. ‘Kouros, pleased to meet you. Lovely wife you have here, quite the charmer. Don’t know what I would have done without her.’
‘I know…’ Alexandros battened down his conflicting emotions and smiled lazily at Kallie. She recognised danger in the smile, and then he looked back at Pierre. ‘She charmed me into marrying her.’
